'Raining in Venice,' an encaustic beeswax painting by Jessie Fritsch of Stevens Point, will be on display Jan. 11 to Feb. 26 at the Alexander House in Port Edwards.

The Alexander House, a Center for Art and History, welcomes the new year with an exhibit featuring the encaustic beeswax paintings of Jessie Fritsch of Stevens Point and the unique pottery of Marsha LaTulip of Garden, Mich. The show opens Jan. 11 and runs through Feb. 26.

Fritsch always wanted to be an artist. Her parents enrolled her in art classes when she was a young child, and when she told her parents she wanted to go to college for art, her parents fully supported her.

Her first year in college Fritsch stumbled across a book about ancient, encaustic beeswax funeral portraits painted in Egypt in her professor's studio. The book forever changed her view on painting. Encaustic, painting with colored wax, was not taught at any of the three colleges she attended, so in 2004, Fritsch received a research grant from University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point to teach herself how to paint using the encaustic medium.

Fritsch primarily began using encaustics because she was captivated by its ancient history and was challenged by its process of heating and cooling, which captures the dynamic of chaos and demands control unlike that of any other painting medium.

Since graduating from UWSP in 2006, Fritsch has exhibited in fine art shows across Wisconsin, winning more than 30 awards. She has more than 24 public works throughout Wisconsin. Fritsch works out of her home in Stevens Point and enjoys educating the public about the lost medium through gallery exhibitions, art fairs, demonstrations and private teaching.

LaTulip, owner and founder of LaTulip Pottery & Tileworks, has worked in clay for more than 25 years. She originally majored in psychology and human development at the University of Wisconsin before she took a class in ceramics. She quickly and unexpectedly realized her joy of working with chunks of mud to create something worthwhile. She began discovering that occasionally her efforts produced items that others found valuable. This led to further experimentation with the medium and ultimately a career as a ceramic artist.

Then while visiting a friend living on the beautiful Garden Peninsula in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, she found her second love, the Northwoods. She decided on this visit that this would be her home and it has been ever since. Her work intimately reflects the fact that she spends a lot of time in the woods, on her farm or otherwise enjoying nature. As a result of these similar connections, her surroundings are directly present in the works she creates.

While all handmade pottery is unique, LaTulip extends this individuality by actually incorporating natural objects into her work. She uses maple, birch and oak leaves, cedar boughs and other media directly into creating her platters, vases, mugs and bowls. This results in a selection of ceramic art that both represents and recreates the unique beauty of the Upper Peninsula region. LaTulip carefully hand paints her works to enhance each impression. Finally, each piece is kiln fired to 2165 degrees, leaving the artwork both decorative and functional.

The Alexander House is sponsored by the Alexander Charitable Foundation, and is open from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays, or by special appointment. For more information, call 715-887-3442, go to www.alexanderhouseonline.org or search "Alexander House" on Facebook.

Contributed by Joe Clark, art director for the Alexander House, Center for Art and History.

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Alexander House kicks off year with new show

The Alexander House, a Center for Art and History, welcomes the new year with an exhibit featuring the encaustic beeswax paintings of Jessie Fritsch of Stevens Point and the unique pottery of Marsha

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